[Wriiten during the time I held the post of Director - Public Relations, SEDS Earth]
Since time immemorial, man has been fascinated by space and the mysteries it shrouds in its dark and deep recesses. From the time when man used to just gaze at the stars, shining brightly in the sky to the present day, when the space around the earth is littered with the engineering marvels of this age, everything has been an effort towards unravelling the mysteries that have haunted mankind in the past and will continue to haunt them even after the dawn of the quintessential Homo sapiens futuralis.
The burning desire to explore the dubious and sometimes shocking possibilities, the haunting secrets and intriguing facts that the universe symbolizes pushed a group of enthusiastic students at MIT, in the year 1980, to establish an organization called SEDS – Students for Exploration & Development of Space. The idea was simple. To quote the forefathers of the organization :
“SEDS is an independent, student-based organization which promotes the exploration and development of space. SEDS pursues this mission by educating people about the benefits of space, by supporting a network of interested students, by providing an opportunity for members to develop their leadership skills, and inspiring people through our involvement in space-related projects. SEDS believes in a space-faring civilization and that focusing the enthusiasm of young people is the key to our future in space.”
The year 1980 saw a slow but steady growth of the organization. Shortly after SEDS was founded at MIT, its president, Peter Diamandis, wrote a letter to the editor in Omni magazine deploring the status of the space program and asking students to help make a difference. The letter, published in Omni in early 1981, attracted students from around the nation to SEDS. The creators were determined to take the organization to the fore and carve a niche for itself. Hence, July 1982 saw the first SEDS Conference being held on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, DC. The meeting attracted students from around the country. A number of top-flight speakers gave presentations at the conference, including Dr. Mark Chartrand, then director of the National Space Institute (now NSS); Dr. David Webb, aerospace pioneer and the head of the SEDS-USA Board of Advisors; and the young Republican co-chairman of the Congressional Space Caucus, a Georgia representative by the name of Newt Gingrich. Students returned to Washington in July of 1983 for the second SEDS conference. The conference was longer than in 1982 and included more presentations by speakers dealing with many aspects of space exploration and development.
The year is 2005. The journey has been an eventful one, if not a long one. SEDS has come a long way, has spread its wings all over the world with chapters in China, Spain and India. The beginning of the 21st century has seen the birth of an organization that will in the future be the face, the symbol, the insignia, of space enthusiasts, grad & undergrad students, learners, entrepreneurs, high school students, professors and anyone and everyone who wants to do something for the exploration and development of space. The much awaited and needed international organization, SEDS-Earth, the new revamped face of SEDS, has been launched.
I, Abhishek Ray, the International Director of Public Relations, welcome you to come and work with us. SEDS is a great opportunity for anyone and everyone who has deep desire, a quest, a thirst for the knowledge of uncovering the unknown, of developing the engineering marvels we have, of pouring out the creative energy in developing our own ‘babies’ which might become tomorrow’s awe-inspiring find or inventions. It is your forum to :
S – SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE UNIVERSE & ITS MYSTERIES.
E – ENVISAGE NEW PROJECTS AND EVENTS THAT WILL SPUR ON THE ENTHUSIASTS WORLDWIDE.
D – DEFINE TOMORROW’S METHODOLOGIES OF EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPACE.
S – SURPASS THE BOUNDARIES OF CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION !!
SEDS-Earth has been born. It is in its infancy. But it will grow. It will stand the test of time. It will traverse the journey to infinity and beyond.
